The African pygmy kingfisher (''Ispidina picta'') is a small insectivorous

kingfisher Kingfishers are a family, the Alcedinidae, of small to medium-sized, brightly colored birds in the order Coraciiformes. They have a cosmopolitan distribution, with most species found in the tropical regions of Africa, Asia, and Oceania, ...

found in the Afrotropics, mostly in

woodland A woodland () is, in the broad sense, land covered with trees, or in a narrow sense, synonymous with wood (or in the U.S., the ''plurale tantum'' woods), a low-density forest forming open habitats with plenty of sunlight and limited shade (se ...

habitats.

Taxonomy

The African pygmy kingfisher was described by the French polymath

Georges-Louis Leclerc, Comte de Buffon Georges-Louis Leclerc, Comte de Buffon (; 7 September 1707 – 16 April 1788) was a French naturalist, mathematician, cosmologist, and encyclopédiste. His works influenced the next two generations of naturalists, including two prominent ...

in 1780 in his ''Histoire Naturelle des Oiseaux''. The bird was also illustrated in a hand-coloured plate engraved by

François-Nicolas Martinet François-Nicolas Martinet (1731 - 1800) was a French engineer, engraver and naturalist. Martinet engraved the plates for numerous works on natural history, especially ornithology. Notable in particular are those for ''l'Ornithologia, sive Synop ...

in the ''Planches Enluminées D'Histoire Naturelle'' which was produced under the supervision of

Edme-Louis Daubenton Edme-Louis Daubenton (12 August 1730 – 12 December 1785) was a French naturalist. Daubenton was the cousin of another French naturalist, Louis Jean-Marie Daubenton. Georges-Louis Leclerc, the Comte de Buffon engaged Edme-Louis Daubenton to su ...

to accompany Buffon's text. Neither the plate caption nor Buffon's description included a scientific name but in 1783 the Dutch naturalist

Pieter Boddaert Pieter Boddaert (1730 – 6 May 1795) was a Dutch physician and naturalist. Early life, family and education Boddaert was the son of a Middelburg jurist and poet by the same name (1694–1760). The younger Pieter obtained his M.D. at the Univers ...

coined the binomial name ''Todier de Juida'' in his catalogue of the ''Planches Enluminées''. The type locality is Saint Louis, Senegal. The African pygmy kingfisher is now placed in the

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial nom ...

'' Ispidina'' that was introduced by the German naturalist Johann Jakob Kaup in 1848. The specific epithet ''picta'' is from the Latin ''pictus'' meaning "painted". Some texts refer to this species as ''Ceyx pictus''. There are three subspecies: * ''I. p. picta'' (

Boddaert Pieter Boddaert (1730 – 6 May 1795) was a Dutch physician and naturalist. Early life, family and education Boddaert was the son of a Middelburg jurist and poet by the same name (1694–1760). The younger Pieter obtained his M.D. at the Univers ...

, 1783) – Senegal and Gambia to Ethiopia and south to Uganda * ''I. p. ferrugina'' Clancey, 1984 – Guinea-Bissau to west Uganda and south to Angola, Zambia and north Tanzania * ''I. p. natalensis'' ( Smith, A, 1832) – south Angola to central Tanzania south to north and east South Africa

Description

The African pygmy kingfisher is in length. The sexes are alike. It is a very small kingfisher with rufous underparts and a blue back extending down to the tail. The dark blue crown of the adult separates it from the

African dwarf kingfisher ''This article discusses the African dwarf kingfisher, which is distinct from the Oriental dwarf kingfisher.'' The African dwarf kingfisher (''Ispidina lecontei'') is a species of kingfisher in the Alcedininae subfamily. Taxonomy The African dw ...

. The smaller size and violet wash on the ear coverts distinguish it from the similar

malachite kingfisher The malachite kingfisher (''Corythornis cristatus'') is a river kingfisher which is widely distributed in Africa south of the Sahara. It is largely resident except for seasonal climate-related movements. Taxonomy The malachite kingfisher was de ...

. The ''natalensis'' subspecies occurring in the south of the range has paler underparts and a blue spot above the white ear patch. Juveniles have less extensive violet on their ear coverts and a black rather than orange bill. The call is a high-pitched insect-like "tsip-tsip" given in flight.

Distribution and habitat

The African pygmy kingfisher is distributed widely in Africa south of the Sahara, where it is a common resident and intra-African migrant. It is absent from much of the horn of Africa, and also the drier western regions of

Southern Africa Southern Africa is the southernmost subregion of the African continent, south of the Congo and Tanzania. The physical location is the large part of Africa to the south of the extensive Congo River basin. Southern Africa is home to a number o ...

. It is found in woodland,

savanna A savanna or savannah is a mixed woodland- grassland (i.e. grassy woodland) ecosystem characterised by the trees being sufficiently widely spaced so that the canopy does not close. The open canopy allows sufficient light to reach the ground to ...

and coastal

forest A forest is an area of land dominated by trees. Hundreds of definitions of forest are used throughout the world, incorporating factors such as tree density, tree height, land use, legal standing, and ecological function. The United Nations' ...

, and it is not bound to water. It is usually found either singly or in pairs and is secretive and unobtrusive.

Behaviour

Breeding

African pygmy kingfishers nest in burrows that are dug by both sexes in sandy soil banks or into a ground termite nest. The burrows are between in length. The clutch is four to six white eggs. Both parents care for the young. They can have several broods in a year.

Feeding

The African pygmy kingfisher's diet consists of insects like grasshoppers, praying mantis, worms, crickets, dragonflies, cockroaches and moths. They are also known to take spiders which make up quite a large part of their diet. They also take geckos and lizards that are easily their length and small frogs and even occasionally small crabs. Prey are hunted from low perches and once caught are either crushed in the beak or smashed against the perch.

Gallery

File:African pygmy kingfisher perched while fishing.jpg, African pygmy kingfisher perched

References

*''Sasol Birds of Southern Africa'' by Ian Sinclair, Phil Hockey and Warwick Tarboton - Published by Struik 1997 - *''Birds of Africa south of the Sahara'' by Ian Sinclair and Peter Ryan - Published by Struik 2003 - *Clancey, P.A. 1997 Pygmy Kingfisher ''Ispidina picta''. In: ''The atlas of southern African birds''. Vol 1: Non-passerines. Harrison, J.A., Allan, D.G., Underhill, L.G., Herremans, M., Tree, A.J., Parker, V. & Brown, C,J.(eds), pp. 648–649. Birdlife South Africa, Johannesburg.

External links

* (African) Pygmy Kingfisher
Species text in The Atlas of Southern African Birds

Xeno-canto: audio recordings of the African pygmy kingfisher
{{Taxonbar, from=Q244227 African pygmy kingfisher African pygmy kingfisher African pygmy kingfisher African pygmy kingfisher Birds of East Africa